‘How’d you like that, sailorboy?’ Egea yelled to Antonio, who had been stood at a safe distance watching, when the monsters were all slain. ‘Are our battle skills good enough for ya?’

Antonio rubbed his chin. ‘Not bad, not bad,’ he said. ‘But that was a relatively weak group of monsters. Most travelling parties could take care of a group like that, if they had a few weapons and spells between them. The monsters around the Frozen Waste are meant to be really nasty. You’re going to have to do a little more than that to convince me you’re really capable of taking them.’

Olivia sighed audibly. Horatio was inclined to sympathise with her. Who did this merchant sailor think he was, trying to chat up Ceres and the others, and making them fight monsters at his whim while he observed?

‘Patience,’ Primus said to her quietly. ‘We will convince him eventually. Remember we are at his mercy here.’

Olivia bit her lip.

They carried on walking down the coast, looking for a tougher band of monsters. Still, they were scarce, and they had to search for quite some time. They spent so long looking that the afternoon became the evening, and the sun began to sink towards the western horizon. When they found another group of monsters dusk was beginning, and the sand was pale in the fading light.

Battle3